Ross Report - 7/2/21

It's not long now before the HOTTEST show of the summer, as the EWA presents the 18th annual Red, White & Bruised! This has always been one of our showcase events of the year, one that's steeped in history and which has provided some of the biggest moments ever to take place in an EWA ring! And just a reminder, you can check out the last 9 year's worth of Red, White & Bruised for FREE on the world famous EWA Network, with even more old school content to be added over the coming weeks and months!

In the meantime though, let's take a look at what we can expect this Sunday, starting off with a grudge match between Sammy Guevara and "Officer" Tyler Breeze! It was just last month at Fight Night that "The Spanish God" managed to even the playing field against "King" Taven by placing several dozen bear traps in front of the locker room door of "Bear Country" to stop "The King's Guard" any opportunity to interfere in that match! While those efforts paid off and helped the former National Champion secure the win, they also attracted the attention of "Officer Getdown," the EWA's latest resident law enforcer! Needless to say, Sammy's lack of proper permits put him in hot water with "The Long and Sexy Arm of The Law," which has resulted in several confrontations over the last few weeks. Indeed, after receiving a ticket for his indiscretion, the "Black Thought LLC" member would cost Tyler Breeze a match against Joey Janela, only to have Breeze return the favor the following week by costing Guevara the win against Evan Bourne! It wouldn't take long for them to settle on a match this Sunday at Red, White & Bruised, where both superstars will no doubt be looking to pick up some big time momentum as we head into the summer!


That's not the only grudge match on the cards either, as we can also look forward to the eagerly-anticipated contest between "Carlito Caribbean Cool" and Santino Marella! This one's been brewing for months, ever since they draw 1 and 2 respectively at Civil War, lasting well into the match until "The Italian Stallion" dumped his rival. Well, Carlito did not take too kindly to that, and neither did he take too kindly to Santino showing up uninvited on the following week's "Cabana" to inadvertently rub that loss in. Still, "The Cool One" would look to move on from Santino as he then invited none other than EWA legend Steve Corino to join him as a special guest on a Fight Night edition of "Carlito's Cabana." This all turned out to be a ruse though, with Carlito utilizing a shoddy excuse of a lookalike to continue taking pot-shots at "The King of Old School" before even attacking the poor son of a gun who he'd hired. This brought out Santino to try and save the day, yet when Carlito turned the tables, the REAL Steve Corino showed up to make the assist and send Carlito packing! Unfortunately for the rest of us though, this didn't exactly abate Carlito's grievances, instead making them all the worse! After being denied a match against the very much retired Corino, Carlito took his anger out on another poor soul, again drawing Santino out to make the save...but that then resulted in the debut of "Carlito Caribbean Cool's" new heavy, Jesús, quickly leading to Marella being overwhelmed yet again! Having had enough of all of Carlito's games, Santino demanded a match with his rival the following week on SLAM!, with Carlito seemingly game to end this as well. However, we should have known something would be up the sleeve of those garish Hawaiian shirts, as mere moments before the match, Carlito claimed to be too "under the weather" to compete, before sending in Jesús to fight his battle for him! Regardless, Santino gave a great showing against the big San Jose native and seemingly had him beat until Carlito dragged the Referee out of the ring to force the DQ! Still, we're clearly at the stage where there's only one sure-fire way to lay all this bad blood to rest, and that's in a match on the grand stage of Red, White & Bruised!

We've seen many major upsets in the EWA over the years, but so far one of the biggest shocks of 2021 was when Dak Draper and J Fowler defeated "Black Thought LLC" last month at Fight Night to capture the Tag Team Championships! That's not to diminish the abilities or Draper and Fowler, of course...on the contrary, they've had a very strong year themselves, including a win over former champs in "The Honky Tonk Man" and my old pal Jerry "The King" Lawler! However, considering how dominant Pete Dunne and Kazuchika Okada were until that point, I daresay there was few who would have given them much hope of success. It's to Draper and Fowler's credit then that they almost immediately threw out an open challenge on SLAM! that was answered by some foes they were familiar with from the independent scene in the shape of Hoodie and Anaya Howlett. Their first successful title defense would soon be spoiled however when we witnessed the surprising return of Brian Pillman Jr. alongside the debuting Shingo Takagi! Quickly revealed to be the latest recruits to "Black Thought LLC", drafted for the sole purpose of reclaiming the Tag Titles, the duo decimated the champions to send an instant statement! This then led to the announcement of a match between J Fowler and Brian Pillman Jr. the following week, yet it was a contest that never took place when "Black Thought LLC" struck once again! It looked like we were about to see them leave the EWA Tag Team Champions laying for the second week running, when all of a sudden, "The American Wolves" appeared from out of nowhere! Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards joined the EWA at the start of June and quickly made their intentions for championship gold known, with Davey even accepting an open contract TV Title match the week prior! It soon turned out that "The Wolves" were still very much in the hunt for the Tag Titles though, helping clear Pillman Jr. and Takagi out of the ring before suddenly taking out Draper and Fowler themselves! While recuperating in the trainer's room shortly thereafter, "The Mile High Magnum" sent "The Buns of Steel" to Harry Smith's office to sign them up for a match at Red, White & Bruised, although something seemed to get lost in translation along the way! Indeed, rather than the three way Tag Team Championship showdown that I think many of us were expecting (Draper included), we're instead going to see a singles triple threat match as J Fowler, Eddie Edwards and Shingo Takagi all represent their respective teams! With their partners no doubt looking to keep a close eye on the action and the inherent no disqualification factor that comes from a triple threat environment to consider as well, I think it's safe to assume that this may well be our most chaotic bout of the entire show, and one that'll certainly have future title implications!

The rise of Drew McIntyre has been one of the feel-good stories of the year. This hard-working Scot wasted no time at all in establishing himself in the EWA, coming in as runner-up at Civil War and then soon after capturing the Television Championship from Darby Allin in a thrilling encounter! As great as his run was up until that point though, what he's set out to do since then has been just as impressive, if not more so. McIntyre vowed to defend the TV Title each and every week he was champion, with Braun Strowman answering the first challenge, then KENTA the following week, and then the aforementioned Davey Richards one week later! McIntyre's self-imposed grueling schedule was clearly taking a toll, yet he refused to slow down or change tack, even as injuries and exhaustion threatened to get the better of him. "The True King of Scotland" continued to roll through the competition and was all set to defend the gold for the fourth time in as many weeks on last Sunday's SLAM! when "Desperado" Joe Gomez threw his name into the hat...but we were denied that contest when Pete Dunne viciously assaulted McIntyre during his entrance! "The Bruiserweight" has been in a foul mood since losing the Tag Titles, although you could argue he'd been in one long before that. In fact, Drew McIntyre clearly caught the ire of the former World Champion when he eliminated Dunne from Civil War, leaving Pete to stew in his own juices for several weeks until this shot at revenge presented itself. And with the challenge laid out, there was never any hesitation or doubt that Drew McIntyre would accept it! Of all the matches scheduled for Red, White & Bruised, I've a sneaking suspicion this could be among the most physical given both superstar's "roughneck"-style. And yet, one has to wonder just what condition Drew McIntyre will be in for a match like this? After all, he's been having back issues ever since the slobberknocker with Braun Strowman at Fight Night, and you have to believe that an opponent as ruthless as Dunne will look to exploit that in any way he can! Still, if "The True King of Scotland" has proven anything over the last several months, it's that he's as tough as they come, and counting him out would be a huge mistake! Even against a former World Champion like "The Career Killer!"


I feel like a broken record saying this, but Chris Jericho may well be one of the most conniving National Champions we've ever seen, consistently looking for the easy way out to carry on his title reign, whether facing "Pineapple" Pete over and over, or putting multiple obstacles in potential opponent's paths, or--as we saw at Fight Night--sending others to do his dirty work for him! In that instance, "Le Champion" claimed PTSD was stopping him from stepping in the ring with Kevin Owens after "Mr. Wrestling" had done an incredible job working his way into title contention, sending in a replacement instead. Despite facing an uphill battle against Omos, Owens proved his worth by pinning Jericho's gigantic bodyguard in the center of the ring...yet still the EWA legend refused to give him his championship opportunity! Owens wouldn't take no for an answer though, marching up to his fellow Canadian's locker room to demand Jericho man up, only to discover "Soul Train Jones" (formerly known as Virgil but now known as "Soul Train Jones" for legal reasons) dressed up like his boss! That distraction quickly opened the proverbial door for Omos to get the jump on "KO" once again! The two of them fought all throughout Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena until they burst out onto the stage, where Omos powerbombed Owens from that dangerous height straight through multiple tables waiting below! There was a lot of speculation in the aftermath of that moment that we might not be seeing Kevin Owens in an EWA ring for the foreseeable future, which then had the "miraculous" knock-on effect of curing Jericho's supposed PTSD now that his number one contender had been eliminated! Indeed, on last week's SLAM!, Jericho would look to end things once and for all by signing a restraining order against "KO," only for an injured Owens to show up with the document in hand, seemingly ready to admit defeat. Thus, the National Champion gleefully signed the contract, yet he soon discovered that wasn't a restraining order but rather an agreement to a match at Red, White & Bruised! Not just any match either, but a STEEL CAGE MATCH, as Owens looks to finally have his one-on-one fight with Jericho for the gold! You've got to believe "Soul Train Jones" and Omos will struggle to play any factor in this battle, while "Le Champion" himself will have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide from a fired up Kevin Owens! At the same time though, the fact that "Mr. Wrestling" is coming into this injured could potentially heed his chances. Owens suffered both a concussion and a hairline fracture in his shoulder thanks to Omos' assault two weeks ago, and rumor has it that Red, White & Bruised may have come around before he's had a chance to fully heal. Still, with how long Owens has waited for an opportunity like this and how badly he wants to defeat Jericho and finally call himself National Champion, I've a feeling "KO" won't let anyone or anything stand in his way this Sunday! And with that in mind, who knows? Maybe Jericho's days as National Champion might finally be numbered!

Speaking of champions who find a way to keep their championships by hook or by crook, we come to Aliyah! "The Boujee Bratz" had an amazing start to the year, culminating in her being crowned the second-ever Queen of the Ring and then defeating Sasha Banks to become a two-time Women's Champion as well! Her good fortune hit a bit of a speedbump though when "ODB" and Carmella defeated Aliyah and Deonna Purrazzo at Civil War, setting up a title clash with "ODB" at Fight Night. However, Aliyah was able to prove victorious on that occasion (albeit with a little help from "The Virtuosa"), before "The Boujee Brand" then injured their old rival to take her out of the equation! At the same time though, Ember Moon made her long-awaited return to the EWA during that same Queen of the Ring tournament that Aliyah went on to win. The former "Villainess" hadn't been seen for almost two years prior to that, but hers has been a story of redemption ever since, leading to her pulling off the biggest win of her career when she out-lasted 19 other competitors to claim the women's Civil War match! That victory also earned her the coveted "Anytime, Anyplace" title opportunity, with Ember choosing to bide her time and allow "ODB" to step up to the plate first. However, when Aliyah called Moon out and invited her into the ring on the first SLAM! post-Fight Night, it quickly turned into the sneak attack I think we all suspected it might, with "The Boujee Brand" standing tall at the end of the night! You can't keep a good woman down for long though, and sure enough, Ember Moon would return on last week's SLAM! to make it clear that Aliyah wasn't going to intimidate her or deny the former "Villainess" the Women's Championship! On the contrary, Ember announced she was cashing in her guaranteed title opportunity, and she'd be doing so this Sunday at Red, White & Bruised! That sets up a mouth-watering match-up between two of the best in the division, and one that'll no doubt be watched closely by the likes of Su Yung, Maki Itoh, Jade Cargill, and of course, Sasha Banks! Can Ember pull off that career-defining win? Or will Aliyah continue to dominate, just like she has for much of the last 18 months? I guess we'll find out this Sunday!


And last, but by no means least, we come to our main event of the evening! Jamie Noble has held the biggest prize in the game since SuperBrawl, making him the longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion since Brock Lesnar's 231 day reign in 2018 and the fourth longest in EWA history! Still, while he's overcome Santos Escobar, Jeremy Wyatt and "The Honky Tonk Man" this year, this could well be his toughest task to date! "Hangman" Adam Page has a lot of momentum on his side after winning this year's Civil War match, which may have inadvertently led to some jealousy on Jamie Noble's part. Indeed, "The Redneck Messiah" has been distrustful of Page ever since Civil War, paranoid that he'd try and cash in his "Anytime, Anyplace" opportunity when Jamie was least expecting it, despite the fact that the Aaron's Creek native had made it clear he had no intention of doing so. And after a major "malfunction at the junction" during last month's Fight Night, where Page acted as Special Enforcer for Noble's World Championship clash with "Honky," things have only deteriorated even further! While Noble accidentally hit Page with a steel chair during the chaotic climax of that match, it was Page who stood tall at the end of the night by laying out "The Peckerwood Jesus" with a very deliberate Buckshot Lariat in retaliation, at which point our World Heavyweight Champion appears to have completely snapped. In fact, where Jamie was once the plucky underdog and a firm fan favorite, we've seen him become more and more unhinged in recent weeks. Whether unnecessarily roughing up a local talent on SLAM! or accusing Adam Page of harassing his pregnant girlfriend Nidia or holding some kind of highfaluting championship celebration just this past week on SLAM!, this isn't the same Jamie Noble who won the hearts of the EWA Universe when he debuted last year. If anything, this is the same bitter and twisted Noble we saw in the run-up to SuperBrawl XX, threatening to let his insecurities get the better of him. It's a sad sight to see, but then, he's not the first World Champion to buckle under the pressure of that title, and I daresay he won't be the last. To Adam Page's credit though, I've seen nothing to suggest that this former schoolteacher isn't entirely above board in his ambitions, trying to be respectful of Noble in spite of the favor clearly not being returned by the World Heavyweight Champion. Hell, "Hangman" Page has had to have the patience of a saint these last few weeks, though Noble finally managed to push him to breaking point when Jamie poured a beer over the recovering alcoholic's head live on SLAM! Security was on hand to break that fight up before it could escalate too far, but that didn't stop "Hangman" Page from announcing that much like Ember Moon, he too was cashing in his Civil War contract at Red, White & Bruised, setting up a bout that has all the makings of an historic barnburner! Still, as much as I'm excited to see two of the very best on the EWA roster fight it out for the number one prize in the sport, I can't help but feel it's a bit of a shame how we got here. Jamie Noble has seemingly changed for the worst through no fault of "Hangman" Adam Page, and rather than a respectful title clash, it now looks like that mutual enmity could result in this being a much uglier affair. Bowling shoe ugly, if you will. One way or the other though, expect these issues to finally be resolved this Sunday at Red, White & Bruised!

So there you have it...seven blockbuster matches, four championships on the line, and a whole lot of ill will to be settled! Yep, Red, White & Bruised is shaping up to be one hell of a show, just as it is every single year, and trust me when I say, you're not gonna want to miss a single second of it! Fortunately, you won't have to either with the event being available on the EWA Network shortly after airing! And make sure you tune in to next week's SLAM! as well, where I'm told they'll be a special announcement about an upcoming milestone event! Until next time though, this is good ol' JR saying,

BOOMER SOONER!